Numbers 22
1 Then the Israelis traveled west to the area of Moab that was in the valley of the Jordan [River], across the river from Jericho [city].
Poi i figliuoli d’Israele partirono e si accamparono nelle pianure di Moab, oltre il Giordano di Gerico.
2 But King Balak, the son of Zippor, who ruled Moab, found out what the Israelis had done to the Amor people-group.
Or Balak, figliuolo di Tsippor, vide tutto quello che Israele avea fatto agli Amorei;
3 [When he saw that] the Israelis were very numerous, he and his people became terrified.
e Moab ebbe grande paura di questo popolo, ch’era così numeroso; Moab fu preso d’angoscia a cagione de’ figliuoli d’Israele.
4 So the king of Moab [went to] the leaders of the Midian people-group and said to them, “This huge group [of Israelis] will (wipe out/destroy) everything around them, like an ox devours grass!” Balak was the king of Moab.
Onde Moab disse agli anziani di Madian: “Ora questa moltitudine divorerà tutto ciò ch’è dintorno a noi, come il bue divora l’erba dei campi”. Or Balak, figliuolo di Tsippor era, in quel tempo, re di Moab.
5 He sent messengers to [a prophet named] Balaam, who was living in his own area, in Pethor [town], near the [Euphrates] River. He sent this message to request that Balaam would come [to help him]: “A huge group of people has arrived here from Egypt. [It looks like] they are covering the entire land! And they have begun to live close to us.
Egli mandò ambasciatori a Balaam, figliuolo di Beor, a Pethor che sta sul fiume, nel paese de’ figliuoli del suo popolo per chiamarlo e dirgli: “Ecco un popolo è uscito d’Egitto; esso ricopre la faccia della terra, e si è stabilito dirimpetto a me;
6 Because they are very powerful/numerous, [we are afraid of them. So] please come and curse them for me. Then my army may be able to defeat them and expel them from the land [where they are now living]. I know that good things will happen to the people whom you bless, and disasters will happen to the people whom you curse.”
or dunque vieni, te ne prego, e maledicimi questo popolo; poiché è troppo potente per me; forse così riusciremo a sconfiggerlo, e potrò cacciarlo dal paese; poiché so che chi tu benedici è benedetto, e chi tu maledici è maledetto”.
7 [Balak’s messengers, who were] leaders of both the Moab and Midian people-groups, took money with them to pay Balaam in order that he would [come and] curse the Israelis. They went to Balaam and told him what Balak had said.
Gli anziani di Moab e gli anziani di Madian partirono portando in mano la mercede dell’indovino; e, arrivati da Balaam, gli riferirono le parole di Balak.
8 Balaam said, “Stay here tonight. [Tomorrow morning] I will tell you whatever Yahweh tells me that I should say to you.” So the leaders from Moab stayed there that night.
E Balaam disse loro: “Alloggiate qui stanotte; e vi darò la risposta secondo che mi dirà l’Eterno”. E i principi di Moab stettero da Balaam.
9 During the night, God appeared to Balaam and asked him, “(Who are/Tell me about) these men who are staying with you.”
Or Dio venne a Balaam e gli disse: “Chi sono questi uomini che stanno da te?”
10 Balaam replied, “Balak, the king of Moab, sent these men to tell me this:
E Balaam rispose a Dio: “Balak, figliuolo di Tsippor, re di Moab, mi ha mandato a dire:
11 ‘A huge group of people has come from Egypt, and they have spread all over this area. Please come immediately to curse them. Then I may be able to defeat them and expel them [from this area].’”
Ecco, il popolo ch’è uscito d’Egitto ricopre la faccia della terra; or vieni a maledirmelo; forse riuscirò così a batterlo e potrò cacciarlo”.
12 God replied to Balaam, “Do not go with them! I have blessed those people, so you must not curse them!”
E Dio disse a Balaam: “Tu non andrai con loro, non maledirai quel popolo, perché egli è benedetto”.
13 The next morning, Balaam got up and told Balak’s men, “Go back home. [But go by yourselves, because] Yahweh is not allowing me to go with you.”
Balaam si levò, la mattina, e disse ai principi di Balak: “Andatevene al vostro paese, perché l’Eterno m’ha rifiutato il permesso di andare con voi”.
14 So the men from Moab returned to King Balak and they reported to him, “Balaam refused to come with us.”
E i principi di Moab si levarono, tornarono da Balak e dissero: “Balaam ha rifiutato di venir con noi”.
15 But Balak sent another [group of] leaders to Balaam. It was a group that was larger and they were more important [than the men in the first group].
Allora Balak mandò di nuovo de’ principi, in maggior numero e più ragguardevoli che que’ di prima.
16 They went to Balaam and told him this: “This is what King Balak says: ‘Please do not allow anything to hinder you from coming here.
I quali vennero da Balaam e gli dissero: “Così dice Balak, figliuolo di Tsippor: Deh, nulla ti trattenga dal venire da me;
17 I will pay you (a lot of money/very well) [if you come], and I will do anything that you ask me to do. Just come and curse these [Israeli] people for me!’”
poiché io ti ricolmerò di onori farò tutto ciò che mi dirai; vieni dunque, te ne prego, e maledicimi questo popolo”.
18 But Balaam answered them, “Even if Balak would give me a palace filled with silver and gold, I would not do anything to disobey Yahweh, (my God/the God whom I [worship]).
Ma Balaam rispose e disse ai servi di Balak: “Quand’anche Balak mi desse la sua casa piena d’argento e d’oro, non potrei trasgredire l’ordine dell’Eterno, del mio Dio, per fare cosa piccola o grande che fosse.
19 But stay here one more night, like the other messengers did, and I will find out if Yahweh has anything more to say to me.”
Nondimeno, trattenetevi qui, anche voi, stanotte, ond’io sappia ciò che l’Eterno mi dirà ancora”.
20 That night God appeared to Balaam again and said to him, “These men have come to request that you go back with them, so you may go with them, but do only what I tell you [to do]!”
E Dio venne la notte a Balaam e gli disse: “Se quegli uomini son venuti a chiamarti, lèvati e va’ con loro; soltanto, farai ciò che io ti dirò”.
21 So the next morning, Balaam put a saddle on his donkey and he departed [with two of his servants] along with the men from Moab.
Balaam quindi si levò la mattina, sellò la sua asina, e se ne andò coi principi di Moab.
22 [Even though God had given Balaam permission to go, he was still angry]. So he sent one of his angels to Balaam. This angel stood in the road to block Balaam’s path. As Balaam and the two servants were riding on their donkeys,
Ma l’ira di Dio s’accese perché egli se n’era andato; e l’angelo dell’Eterno si pose sulla strada per fargli ostacolo. Or egli cavalcava la sua asina e avea seco due servitori.
23 Balaam’s donkey saw the angel. The angel was standing in the road and was holding a sword in his hand, [but Balaam did not see him]. Balaam’s donkey turned off the road into a field. So Balaam struck the donkey and forced it to go back onto the road.
L’asina, vedendo l’angelo dell’Eterno che stava sulla strada con la sua spada sguainata in mano, uscì di via e cominciava ad andare per i campi. Balaam percosse l’asina per rimetterla sulla strada.
24 Then the angel stood in a place where the road was very narrow, between two vineyards, with walls on each side of the road.
Allora l’angelo dell’Eterno si fermò in un sentiero incavato che passava tra le vigne e aveva un muro di qua e un muro di là.
25 When the donkey saw the angel standing there, it walked very close to the wall [to try to get past the angel]. As a result, it bashed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam struck the donkey again.
L’asina vide l’angelo dell’Eterno; si serrò al muro e strinse il piede di Balaam al muro; e Balaam la percosse di nuovo.
26 Then the angel went further along the road and stood at a place that was extremely narrow, with the result that the donkey could not get past at all.
L’angelo dell’Eterno passò di nuovo oltre, e si fermò in un luogo stretto dove non c’era modo di volgersi né a destra né a sinistra.
27 This time, when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down [on the ground] with Balaam sitting on top of it. Balaam became extremely angry, and he struck the donkey again with his walking stick.
L’asina vide l’angelo dell’Eterno e si sdraiò sotto Balaam; l’ira di Balaam s’accese, ed egli percosse l’asina con un bastone.
28 Then Yahweh enabled the donkey to speak! It said to Balaam, “What bad thing have I done to you that caused you to strike me three times?”
Allora l’Eterno aprì la bocca all’asina, che disse a Balaam: “Che t’ho io fatto che tu mi percuoti già per la terza volta?”
29 Balaam shouted, “I struck you because you have caused me to appear to be foolish! If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!”
E Balaam rispose all’asina: “Perché ti sei fatta beffe di me. Ah se avessi una spada in mano! t’ammazzerei sull’attimo”.
30 But the donkey answered, “I am your own donkey [RHQ], the one that you have always ridden! Have I ever done anything like this previously?” Balaam said, “No.”
L’asina disse a Balaam: “Non son io la tua asina che hai sempre cavalcata fino a quest’oggi? Sono io solita farti così?” Ed egli rispose: “No”.
31 Then Yahweh enabled Balaam to see the angel standing on the road, holding a sword in his hand. Balaam [realized that it was an angel and] prostrated himself on the ground in front of the angel.
Allora l’Eterno aprì gli occhi a Balaam, ed egli vide l’angelo dell’Eterno che stava sulla strada, con la sua spada sguainata. Balaam s’inchinò e si prostrò con la faccia in terra.
32 The angel asked him, ‘(Why did you strike your donkey three times?/ You should certainly not have struck the donkey three times! [RHQ] I have come to block your path because what you are planning to do is wrong.
L’angelo dell’Eterno gli disse: “Perché hai percosso la tua asina già tre volte? Ecco, io sono uscito per farti ostacolo, perché la via che batti è contraria al voler mio;
33 Three times your donkey saw me and turned away from me. If it had not done that, I would certainly have killed you already, but I would have allowed the donkey to live.”
e l’asina m’ha visto ed è uscita di strada davanti a me queste tre volte; se non fosse uscita di strada davanti a me, certo io avrei già ucciso te e lasciato in vita lei”.
34 Then Balaam said to the angel, “I have sinned. But I did not realize that you were standing there, trying to block my path. So if you do not want me to continue going, I will return home.”
Allora Balaam disse all’angelo dell’Eterno: “Io ho peccato, perché non sapevo che tu ti fossi posto contro di me sulla strada; e ora, se questo ti dispiace, io me ne ritornerò”.
35 But the angel replied, “I will allow you to go with these men, but you must say only what I tell you to say!” So Balaam went on with the leaders whom Balak [had sent].
E l’angelo dell’Eterno disse a Balaam: “Va’ pure con quegli uomini; ma dirai soltanto quello che io ti dirò”. E Balaam se ne andò coi principi di Balak.
36 When King Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went to meet him at a Moab town alongside the Arnon [River] that was at the border of his own land.
Quando Balak udì che Balaam arrivava, gli andò incontro a Jr-Moab che è sul confine segnato dall’Arnon, alla frontiera estrema.
37 [When he arrived where] Balaam was, he said to him, “I sent you [RHQ] a message saying that you should come immediately [RHQ]! Why did you not come immediately? [Did you think that] I was not able to pay you a lot of money for coming?”
E Balak disse a Balaam: “Non t’ho io mandato con insistenza a chiamare? perché non sei venuto da me? non son io proprio i grado di farti onore?”
38 Balaam replied, “I have come here now, but I am not able to say anything [that I want to]. I will say only the words that God tells me to say [MTY].”
E Balaam rispose a Balak: “Ecco, son venuto da te; ma posso io adesso dire qualsiasi cosa? la parola che Dio mi metterà in bocca, quella dirò”.
39 Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath-Huzoth [town].
Balaam andò con Balak, e giunsero a Kiriath-Hutsoth.
40 There Balak killed some cattle and sheep as sacrifices, and offered [parts of the meat] to Balaam and the leaders who were with him.
E Balak sacrificò buoi e pecore e mandò parte delle carni a Balaam e ai principi ch’eran con lui.
41 [They slept there], and the next morning Balak took Balaam part way up [the mountain] to Bamoth-Baal [village]. From there, they could see some of the Israeli people who were down below.
La mattina Balak prese Balaam e lo fece salire a Bamoth Baal, donde Balaam vide l’estremità del campo d’Israele.
